1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image frame selecting device for a photographic printer for selecting a specific image frame from a plurality of image frames displayed on a monitor.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In a photographic printer, a picture is printed by exposing image frames of a developed negative film onto a printing film. This printing process frequently demands image frame selection because the process involves such operations as selecting the image frame to be printed, correcting the exposure condition and inputting the number of pieces to be printed. In printing the image frames of the negative film onto photographic printing paper, the photographic printer detects the reference point to the image frame of the negative film with an optical sensor etc., positions the image frame to be printed with a conveying mechanism to a printing aperture provided in the film conveying passage, and prints the necessary pieces of photographic printing paper under modified exposure conditions, if necessary. Various methods have been known for selecting the image frame to be printed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 103027/1990 discloses a method which, in selecting the image frame to be printed among various pieces of film, allows a position of the selected image frame to be checked by the use of a selection key whose number and arrangement correspond to those of the image frame formed on the piece of film. By this method, the arrangement of the selection keys corresponds to that of the image frames on the piece of film, and this improves the operation efficiency relating to the selection when the exact location of the selected image frame on the piece film is already known. However, when the location of the selected image frame on the negative piece of film is not known exactly, the piece of film which has already been set on the negative film carrier must be dismounted to confirm the exact location by looking straight at the piece of film.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 110583/1996 discloses another method which allows the user to designate consecutively the image frames to be printed by using a selection key whose arrangement pattern is similar to that of image frames printed as an index print in order to confirm the selected image frame by the index prints. This method is a more exact selecting operation compared with that of the method previously described, because the image frame is confirmed by the index prints and the arrangement of the selection keys is similar to that of the image frames. This method, however, always requires the user to prepare index prints of the negative film to be printed. Therefore, when the index prints are not prepared, the selection according to this method cannot be utilized.
In order to select image frames by confirming the selected image frames visually, another method is adopted in which a processed image frame signal is displayed on a monitor after being read by a scanner installed on the film conveying passage. A cursor displayed on the monitor is moved to the selected image frame by a cursor key. However, it is annoying for skilled workers to move the cursor consecutively with the cursor key. A pointing device like a mouse or a touch panel, instead of a cursor key, may be easier to use for unskilled workers, but, when considering a quick selecting operation of the image frame by the skilled worker, the shift period from an image frame to the next remote one becomes critical. When a pointing device like a mouse or a touch panel is installed adding to the input keys on a keyboard for operating a photographic printer, the apparatus may have a defect of increasing the complexity and expense of the apparatus.
The object of the present invention is to provide an image frame selecting device for a photographic printer, which solves the problems in the prior art and allows a skilled worker to confirm visually the image frame and to select it quickly, without complexity of use and without increasing the expense of the photographic printer.
In order to solve the problems described above, an image frame selecting device for a photographic printer according to the present invention comprises an image processing means for reading an image frame of a negative film and for displaying plural kinds of image frames in a multi-frame illustrative pattern on a monitor; an illustrative pattern switching means for changing the multi-frame illustrative patterns; a plurality of selection keys disposed corresponding to the arrangement of each image frame in the multi-frame illustrative pattern; and a selection key control means for assigning the selecting function of the image frames displayed on the monitor to only the keys whose positions correspond respectively to those of image frames in the multi-frame illustrative pattern selected by the illustrative pattern switching means.
This device allows the desired image frame to be selected among several image frames displayed on a monitor in a multi-frame illustrative pattern determined by the illustrative pattern switching means, by using a selection key whose position corresponds to that of desired image frame. Furthermore, even if the multi-frame illustrative pattern is changed, the selecting function is automatically re-assigned to each selection key, so that each location of selection keys will correspond to that of each image frame after the pattern is changed.
Accordingly, the image frame can similarly be selected by the selection keys whose arrangement pattern corresponds to that of each image frame displayed on the monitor. Therefore, using a group of selection keys whose arrangement pattern always corresponds to that of the image frames makes it possible to select the image frames quickly even if the multi-frame illustrative pattern of image frames on the monitor is changed.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, an identification device is provided to identify the selection keys which are assigned to the image frame selecting functions by a selection key control means. This gives an advantage which allows the selection keys assigned to the selections of the image frames in the present multi-frame illustrative pattern to be easily confirmed. As an identification device it is preferable to use a display device like an LED.
When the selection key itself is equipped with the above-mentioned identification device, it will provide an advantage of a smaller arrangement space of the selection keys. When the identification device is arranged in the vicinity of the selection key, it will also give a similar advantage by adding such configuration as a notch to a part of each selection key.
In addition to those advantages, when the ten-key keypad is made to serve also as the image frame selection keys in another preferred embodiment of the present invention, no special space is required for the selection keys so as to give more freedom in keyboard design.
When the selection keys are combined with other function keys and an assignment-cancel key to cancel the selecting functions assigned to the selection keys, the printing operation can be executed more efficiently because other operations such as data input may be started by pressing the assignment-cancel key immediately after the selecting operation of image frame has been finished.